Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Medellin and Arklow

For one person, living is cheaper in Medellin: $1,614 a month against $2,624 in Arklow, rent and utilities included – about $12,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

79

Cost of Living Index in Medellin
Learn more

Medellin Living Index
128

Cost of Living Index in Arklow
Learn more

Arklow Living Index

Jump to prices

Medellin

🇨🇴 Colombia

$1,614

/mo nomad

Arklow

🇮🇪 Ireland

$2,624

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Medellin and in Arklow

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Medellin and in Arklow actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,614 per month in Medellin vs $2,624 in Arklow, rent included.

Medellin $1,614
Arklow $2,624

A couple spends around $2,402 per month in Medellin vs $3,680 in Arklow, rent included.

Medellin $2,402
Arklow $3,680

A family of three spends $3,190 per month in Medellin vs $4,737 in Arklow, rent included.

Medellin $3,190
Arklow $4,737

Medellin is about 38% cheaper than Arklow, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

Both Medellin and Arklow sit above the global median – Medellin by 20%, Arklow by 94%.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.93 COP 25.2K

$22.34 €19.87

-64.50%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.13 COP 146.3K

$89.5 €79.6

-48.45%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$9.50 COP 30.1K

$11.25 €10.01

-15.56%

Cappuccino

$3.11 COP 9,866

$4.12 €3.67

-24.51%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.83 COP 5,800

$2.93 €2.60

-37.54%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.38 COP 4,360

$2.25 €2.00

-38.67%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.05 COP 9,672

$5.47 €4.86

-44.24%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.50 COP 17.4K

$5.16 €4.58

6.59%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.45 COP 4,600

$1.69 €1.50

-14.20%

White Bread (500g)

$2.36 COP 7,496

$2.23 €1.99

5.83%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.68 COP 5,328

$1.90 €1.69

-11.58%

Eggs

$2.86 COP 9,077

$4.64 €4.12

-38.36%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$10.19 COP 32.3K

$14.19 €12.62

-28.19%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$9.53 COP 30.2K

$13.17 €11.71

-27.64%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$14.04 COP 44.5K

$16.67 €14.83

-15.78%

Apples (1kg)

$4.07 COP 12.9K

$3.26 €2.90

24.85%

Banana (1kg)

$1.50 COP 4,742

$2.90 €2.58

-48.28%

Oranges (1kg)

$2.17 COP 6,891

$3.42 €3.04

-36.55%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.31 COP 7,310

$4.70 €4.18

-50.85%

Potato (1kg)

$1.93 COP 6,113

$2.36 €2.10

-18.22%

Onion (1kg)

$1.64 COP 5,196

$1.83 €1.62

-10.38%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.13 COP 3,571

$1.45 €1.29

-22.07%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.25 COP 3,954

$2.15 €1.91

-41.86%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.99 COP 12.6K

$20.31 €18.07

-80.35%

Wine (Bottle)

$13.35 COP 42.3K

$13.59 €12.09

-1.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.70 COP 5,384

$4.08 €3.63

-58.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.37 COP 7,525

$3.61 €3.21

-34.35%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.21 COP 3,827

$2.40 €2.14

-49.58%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$76.5 COP 242.5K

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.32 COP 4,179

$5.18 €4.61

-74.52%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.14 COP 6,774

$1.54 €1.37

38.96%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$8.47 COP 26.8K

$33.30 €29.62

-74.56%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.30 COP 4,114

$2.12 €1.89

-38.68%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.0K COP 88.7M

$38.8K €34.5K

-27.84%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$35.4K COP 112.3M

$37.3K €33.2K

-5.07%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$172 COP 545.6K

$240 €213

-28.27%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$13.37 COP 42.4K

$22.10 €19.65

-39.50%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$28.73 COP 91.1K

$55.2 €49.08

-47.93%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.24 COP 143.5K

$57.5 €51.2

-21.34%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$17.04 COP 54.0K

Cinema Ticket

$6.28 COP 19.9K

$13.58 €12.08

-53.76%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$770 COP 2.4M

$1,066 €948

-27.76%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$9,011 COP 28.6M

$5,404 €4,807

66.74%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$86.4 COP 274.0K

$93.9 €83.5

-8.00%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$57.1 COP 181.1K

$43.32 €38.53

31.88%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$137 COP 432.9K

$106 €94.6

28.37%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$97.9 COP 310.4K

$118 €105

-17.01%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,055 COP 3.3M

$1,566 €1,393

-32.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$616 COP 2.0M

$1,325 €1,178

-53.51%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,892 COP 6.0M

$2,857 €2,541

-33.78%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,023 COP 3.2M

$1,819 €1,618

-43.78%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$4,059 COP 12.9M

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,678 COP 5.3M

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$652 COP 2.1M

$4,863 €4,325

-86.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.94

4.14

164.25%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Medellin: October 12, 2026

Last update for Arklow: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Medellin

$616 38.2%

Arklow

$1.3K 50.5% 115% $709

Groceries & Markets

Medellin

$295 18.3%

Arklow

$392 14.9% 33% $97

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Medellin

$214 13.3%

Arklow

$317 12.1% 48.1% $103

Clothing & Footwear

Medellin

$170 10.5%

Arklow

$163 6.2% 4.3% $7.4

Eating Out

Medellin

$168 10.4%

Arklow

$320 12.2% 90.2% $152

Getting Around

Medellin

$93 5.8%

Arklow

$23 * 0.9% 75.9% $71

Sport & Entertainment

Medellin

$58 3.6%

Arklow

$85 3.2% 46.5% $27

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $1,055 in Medellin versus $1,566 in Arklow. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries run about 645% higher in Arklow, which partly offsets the higher cost of living there. Purchasing power depends on which expenses matter most to you.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin versus $89.0 in Arklow. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $295 vs $392 – making Medellin the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇨🇴 Medellin

🇮🇪 Arklow

🕒 Local time

23:59 11:59 PM

05:59 5:59 AM

6 h ahead of Medellin

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,486,723

13,399

💱 Currency

Colombian Peso COP $

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 COP = 3.15 USD

10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to COP – Colombian Peso Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇨🇴 Colombian Peso ($)

Colombian Peso exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 3,171 COP (10,000 COP = 3.15 USD). 1 EUR = 3,570 COP (10,000 COP = 2.8 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 17, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to COP in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Medellin Arklow 8,080 km ≈ 11 h nonstop flight

From you

Medellin
Arklow

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Medellin vs Arklow: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Monthly costs with rent: $1,614 in Medellin, $2,624 in Arklow – roughly 63% apart. Outside of rent, the biggest gap is in eating out.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $2,421 per month in Medellin and $3,936 in Arklow. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in Medellin, especially for central apartments. Housing is actually the single biggest factor behind the overall cost gap between these two cities.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $46.00 in Medellin and $89.0 in Arklow. That's a good indicator of the overall restaurant and café pricing gap between the two cities.

Groceries cost about 33% more in Arklow, though it depends on what you buy. Local produce may be comparable; imported and premium items show the biggest price gap.

A $2,500 monthly budget goes further in Medellin, where all-in costs run around $1,614, than in Arklow at $2,624. In Medellin it covers expenses comfortably, while in Arklow it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Medellin has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $1,614 in Medellin to $2,624 in Arklow. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.

Both have safer and rougher neighborhoods, but overall safety is comparable to other large cities. Neighborhood choice matters more than the city-level comparison – central, well-trafficked areas feel secure in both.

If budget matters most, go with Medellin. If higher salaries, better infrastructure, or specific career opportunities are the priority, Arklow makes more sense. Both are solid long-term options with distinct trade-offs.